Weekly Numismatic World News

Depending on how you look at the news, it was a quiet week in numismatics from around the world. One issue not being written about in the numismatic press are the ongoing problems local governments and some businesses are facing in the United Kingdom on their switch to the new pound coin. Aside from production issues, there are entities that are not ready for the new pound coin and may not be ready when the old round pound is demonetized in October.

The United Kingdom is a smaller country than the United States with fewer people and not as many smaller governments trying to control their own piece of grass. Yet, the change was announced almost three years in advance and the Royal Mint provided free test coins to anyone who asked and they are still not ready. One can only imagine the chaos that would occur in the United States if the same thing happened here!

The other big story that I am not including is those about Bitcoin and other so-called crypto-currencies. There are a lot of stories about “Initial Coin Offerings” (ICO) announcing another version of these contrived bit-created† trading units. Unless crypto-currencies produce something numismatic-related that can be collected, it is the same as someone writing “This paper is worth $1” and using it for commerce. Without backing, both the crypto-currency and the paper are worth whatever someone will trade for it. Neither have real value and not a subject I plan to cover.

NEW ORLEANS – A local artist is drawing interest for a commemorative coin memorializing four Confederate-era monuments recently removed by the City of New Orleans. One Point Five Art, an artist based in Algiers who sells New Orleans-themed artwork on platforms such as Facebook, Ebay, and Etsy, has listed the “Monumental” New Orleans Commemorative Confederate Statue Coin for presale on Ebay. → Read more at wgno.com

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The seas have not been kind this summer to treasure hunters looking for gold off the coast of Wabasso. So far, the crew of the Capitana has recovered only one gold coin, an Escudo minted in Mexico about 1714. → Read more at tcpalm.com

CARSON CITY, Nev. – In February of 1870, the sparkling new steam-powered coin press inside the United States Mint in Carson City struck its first coin, a Seated Liberty silver dollar with a crisp CC mint mark. → Read more at carsonvalleytimes.com

Experts were thrilled to discover the coin on a remote island in the Scottish Orkney archipelago. The coin, which is believed to date from the mid fourth-century A.D., was found during an excavation on the small island of Rousay, which is part of the Orkney islands off Scotland’s northeastern coast. → Read more at foxnews.com

AN ancient Roman coin dating back around 1600 years has been discovered in Rousay, Orkney . Archaeologists unearthed the ancient copper alloy coin during a dig by teams working at the eroding beach at Swandro. → Read more at scotsman.com

A rare gold coin from the time of the Byzantine Emperor Phocas was discovered during excavations at Rusokastro Fortress, which is located on a hill near Zhelyazovo village, in Burgas district in southeastern Bulgaria, quoted by the Bulgarian National Television. → Read more at novinite.com

MANILA- The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is looking to launch redesigned coins with new security features before the end of the year. Central bank Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said Friday that the new generation coins would be released and circulated within the year. → Read more at news.abs-cbn.com

DENVER — The World’s Fair of Money® is coming to Denver, Colorado, August 1 – 5, 2017, and the public can see more than $1 billion of historic rare coins and colorful currency including $100,000 denomination bills, Colorado Gold Rush-era coins, a famous $3 million nickel and currency that was mistakenly misprinted with upside down serial numbers. → Read more at northdenvertribune.com

† Before a Bitcoin fan decides to flame my stance on crypto-currencies, I do have a technical background especially in the area of information security. I fully understand the principles of the block-chain technology behind these crypto-currencies and the games that can be played not only with the elements of the blockchain (remember, it is only a pseudo-random number generator), but also with the trading mechanisms. I have sound technical reasons behind my social responsibility for not being a fan.

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